Catheters comprising an inflatable balloon may be used in various medical applications, such as sinuplasty.
For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2014/0107427, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,579,448, issued Feb. 28, 2017, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a medical device for the treatment and irrigation of a sinus opening. The device allows for single-handed operation to access, dilate and irrigate a sinus opening. The device includes a sinus guide 15 catheter, a guiding element, a balloon dilation catheter, a balloon catheter movement mechanism and a guiding element movement mechanism. A method for treating a sinus opening and irrigating a sinus is also described.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0184683, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,095,646, issued on Aug. 4, 2015, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a medical device for the treatment of a sinus opening. The medical device comprises a proximal end, a distal end, and a shaft system having an inflation lumen and an irrigation lumen the proximal and. The shaft system has a proximal shaft section and a distal shaft section. An inflatable balloon is attached to the distal shaft section in a position that is proximal to said distal end.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0259217, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,238,126, issued on Jan. 19, 2016, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method of dilating a paranasal sinus ostium of a patient. The method includes inserting a catheter having at least one balloon into a sinus ostium having an ostial wall, inflating the balloon by supplying fluid thereto such that the balloon exerts a force on the ostial wall, determining at least one parameter of the balloon, establishing an amount the balloon can be inflated without fracturing the sinus ostium based at least in part on the determined parameter of the balloon, and dilating the sinus ostium by inflating the balloon to an amount that does not exceed the established amount.